Whilst taking a few quiet moments in the courtyard at Colditz castle I spotted this fledgling blackbird perched on the downpipe of some guttering.
I was able to get pretty close as you can see and s/he was as curious about me as I was about him/her.
I managed to get these few pictures but I could tell it was preparing to fly away in the final picture because it pooped so I stepped back to give it space and as expected s/he flew away.
It would be hard to argue against the Robin being everybody's favourite bird and these three spotted in Mere Sands Woods help confirm just how beautiful and endearing the Robin is.
Last year I took a photo of a fledgling Robin in the same spot as the first of today's images and given how territorial Robins are I wonder whether this is the same bird, it is nice to think that it is.
The second of today's Robins was a noisy and curious little chap and he looks in fine condition.
As I was stood on the path watching the birds I spoke with a couple of other visitors to the reserve and together we tried to tempt one to feed off our hands. We managed to tempt him to a small pile of seeds and mealworms on the floor at our feet but he couldn't be persuaded onto a hand.
Yesterday I couldn't identify the birds in the pictures I posted (truth be told I didn't try too hard to find out) but tonight I didn't want to leave it as another unidentified beauty. So I did a little bit of research and found that this curious little yellow bird is a Village Weaver bird. There are different varieties of weaver birds so at first when I looked I wasn't convinced but as I scrolled through numerous images I became more certain that I had identified it.
As you may know (if you have followed my blog for any length of time) yellow is my favourite colour so it is little wonder that when I see a critter like this I am going to take a photo or two.
On Saturday I had planned on going to Bodnant Gardens in North Wales, desperate for some spring colour but I woke to the sound of pounding rain on the roof and my mood became as grey as the clouds as I realised that my planned photo shoot was not going to happen.
Later in the day the skies cleared and the sun came out. It was too late to travel to Bodnant but I wanted so much to get out so decided to go somewhere closer to home and hit upon the idea of the Walled Garden at Royden Park. This is a local gem and although the park is a favourite with families and dog walkers the walled garden is a secluded and often over looked spot and whenever I have visited in the past I have found myself alone or just joined by one or two other visitors, Saturday was no exception and in the afternoon sun it was a perfect spot.
It is stil very early in the season and there weren't too many floral specimens on display (there were a few which I will be sharing in due course) but I spent some time watching the birds visiting a corner of the garden where there are a number of feeders set up to encourage the wildlife.
Today's picture is of a beautiful Great Tit that was taking almost as much interest in me as I was in him. He perched for a few moments, just long enough for this shot, before flying to feed his pretty little face.
